Changing car to lower power - frustrating?

onlyfoolsandparking

born_again said:

Compared to a Ducati all cars are slow 😂

Your not wrong 

My BMW is 165bhp and weighs 205kg, I've never had any problems 'keeping up' with the traffic.

coffeehound

caprikid1 said:

Don't get hung up on BHP, I switch between multiple cars between 60BHP and 180BHP, it's about how they drive and how heavy they are.

NSG666 said:

 It's not just about power it's torque that most people miss but don't realise. 

Agree with this.  I went from a 2-litre 8v Golf to a heavier 2-litre 16v 4WD.  Although the engines were similar in output, the low-down torque of the Golf compared to the crap torque of the 16v in a heavier car made a huge difference in driveability.

BOWFER

coffeehound said:

caprikid1 said:

Don't get hung up on BHP, I switch between multiple cars between 60BHP and 180BHP, it's about how they drive and how heavy they are.

NSG666 said:

 It's not just about power it's torque that most people miss but don't realise. 

Agree with this.  I went from a 2-litre 8v Golf to a heavier 2-litre 16v 4WD.  Although the engines were similar in output, the low-down torque of the Golf compared to the crap torque of the 16v in a heavier car made a huge difference in driveability.

Torque is everything in a car, very few want to have to rev a car to get anywhere.
It doesn't help that cars generally don't like being revved either, the NVH becomes horrendous.
Rare you get a a car that revs high in an enjoyable manner.
A turbo is an absolute necessity these days.
But I'm used to electric cars now, HUGE torque and turbine smooth.

SallyDucati

born_again said:

Compared to a Ducati all cars are slow 😂

Totally!  I miss my Monster since it got stolen 

DrEskimo

BOWFER said:

coffeehound said:

caprikid1 said:

Don't get hung up on BHP, I switch between multiple cars between 60BHP and 180BHP, it's about how they drive and how heavy they are.

NSG666 said:

 It's not just about power it's torque that most people miss but don't realise. 

Agree with this.  I went from a 2-litre 8v Golf to a heavier 2-litre 16v 4WD.  Although the engines were similar in output, the low-down torque of the Golf compared to the crap torque of the 16v in a heavier car made a huge difference in driveability.

Torque is everything in a car, very few want to have to rev a car to get anywhere.
It doesn't help that cars generally don't like being revved either, the NVH becomes horrendous.
Rare you get a a car that revs high in an enjoyable manner.
A turbo is an absolute necessity these days.
But I'm used to electric cars now, HUGE torque and turbine smooth.

This ^

I went from a 3.0 supercharged V6 with around 330BHP to a EV with about 90BHP, but the power delivery is so nice from a standstill that I don't mind it at all. Very smooth and no gears.

Once you drive an EV with no gearbox and instant response, you will struggle to want to drive an ICE again.

SallyDucati

Thanks everyone.  I was looking at BMW X1 or Audi Q3, with 200ish-250ish bhp but could get newer cheaper with lower power.  I may specifically look to diesel to get low down torque.

jimjames

Yes we did this and changed back within a month. My wife found the Fiesta we bought just wasn't quick enough for joining the motorway so sold it and bought another Golf.

BOWFER

SallyDucati said:

Thanks everyone.  I was looking at BMW X1 or Audi Q3, with 200ish-250ish bhp but could get newer cheaper with lower power.  I may specifically look to diesel to get low down torque.

Dare I suggest the VW ID4, Skoda Enyaq or Ford Mach-E instead....?
They might cost a bit more to PCP, but nicer to drive and hugely reduced running costs.
No offence, but with the world the way it is the cars you're mentioning should be considered out of date dinosaurs.

SallyDucati

BOWFER said:

SallyDucati said:

Thanks everyone.  I was looking at BMW X1 or Audi Q3, with 200ish-250ish bhp but could get newer cheaper with lower power.  I may specifically look to diesel to get low down torque.

Dare I suggest the VW ID4, Skoda Enyaq or Ford Mach-E instead....?
They might cost a bit more to PCP, but nicer to drive and hugely reduced running costs.
No offence, but with the world the way it is the cars you're mentioning should be considered out of date dinosaurs.

thanks Bowfer, no offence taken!  I'm not looking to PCP, but to buy used for cash, so those are out of my price range.

BOWFER

SallyDucati said:

thanks Bowfer, no offence taken!  I'm not looking to PCP, but to buy used for cash, so those are out of my price range.

Maybe worth considering just banking/keeping the cash and getting an electric car on PCP.....